The Last Days | 2 Timothy 3:1-9 | Pastor John Miller

I want you to look at just verse 1 of chapter 3 Paul says this know also that in the last days there's our term prayerless or savage or difficult days shall come Paul as you know was writing from prison expecting to be executed but his mind was not on himself it was on his young Protege Timothy who was in the city of Ephesus and he was pastoring during very difficult times there and so the future of the church was on Paul's heart and Paul's mine and the preaching of the gospel and the truth of the gospel that Paul wanted Timothy to be able to carry on he was actually passing the torch to young Timothy so Paul gives these words to Timothy to fortify him and to give him what I was called a prophecy of the coming apostasy in verses 1 to 9 and then in verse 10 to 17 and we'll get it in two weeks actually Paul helps them to stand strong and know how to stand against the coming apostasy that is coming into the world now the Bible teaches that in the days just before the church is caught up to meet the Lord in the air and what we're going to call the rapture and I'll talk about that more in just a moment that the world is going to get darker it's not going to get lighter it's not going to get better it's going to get worse and so the Bible wants us to be conditioned and prepared and understand now we were not to be pessimist and we're not to be just full-blown optimists we're both to be realist so we're optimistic because we know the Lord is coming again but we're also realist because we know that the world is going to get darker and darker and darker until Jesus Christ returns and so Paul does these four things I want you to note in this passage or actually these yes four things from verse one down to verse nine he first describes that there will be he warns us there'll be perilous times verse one then he tells us that there would be a time of perverted love and we're looking at it verse two to verse four and then he gives us an understanding of the profession of godliness that's false in verse five and then he breaks down the practices of the apostate false teachers in the last days let's look first of all at verse 1 Paul says this know also that in the last days perilous times shall come so you stop stop right there Paul wanted Timothy to know something notice in verse 1 this know and in the Greek it's kind of in the present tense it's like I want you to constantly continually ongoingly I want you to know something Timothy and I want you to remember this then in the last days they're gonna be marked by perilous times two things last days and perilous times now we hear that title a lot today it's the last days or that's the end of time but I want you to understand something that's very important in the New Testament the Bible describes the last days as actually from the time of Christ's first coming and Advent some say more specifically his public ministry until the end of the Tribulation Period the second coming so actually the last days have been going on for almost 2,000 years now write down Hebrews chapter 1 where the writer of Hebrews says that in different times and in different ways God spoken to the father's by the prophets then he made this statement has in these last days spoken unto us in by or through his own son notice he said in these last day so way back when the book of Hebrews was being written and pinned these were actually the last days so Paul is actually saying that the last days begin with the first advent and they will be finished or conclude with the second Advent now you might say well gee John that really disappoints me I thought we were really living in the end of time and my answer is that we are living in the end of time but you need to understand something you need to understand that God has a plan and a purpose for the church God has a plan and the purpose for the nation of Israel and God has a plan and a purpose for the world the Gentile world now I don't have time to get technical or go off into this and I've taught on that before but if you're going to understand Bible prophecy or the scholars call it eschatology the study of future things you're going to have to keep those categories in mind the program for the church the program for the Jewish people the nation of Israel and God's program for the Gentiles or for the world now what is happening right now is we are living in the church age it's called the dispensation of the period of time of the church this began I believe on the day of Pentecost that when the Holy Spirit fell in Acts chapter 2 the church was born that was the formation of the church and they were baptized into Christ and became one body of Christ being the head so from that day till today everyone who has saved is actually put into the church the body of Christ and were united to Christ are living head now when will this age that started at Pentecost come to an end it comes to an end when the church is caught up to meet the Lord in the air and what we know as the rapture of the church now there there's kind of a move today in a lot of circles to deny this doctrine called the rapture but I want to give you a few verses if you're taking notes you can write them down where this is disclosed it's first disclosed by Jesus in John chapter 14 when Jesus said to his disciples in the upper room he says let not your heart be troubled neither let it be afraid you believe in God you believe also in me for in my father's house are many 1 mansions in the King James some have abiding places he's describing heaven he said I'm going to go prepare this place for you heaven my father's house and if I go to prepare this place for you I will do what I will come again and I will again do what I will receive you to myself that where I am there you may be also no signs of the moon turning the blood or the temple being built in Jerusalem or earthquakes or famines or pestilence none of that just I will come again I believe that Jesus was revealing that he would come to take the church to heaven that that would be the rapture now another place you'll find the rapture is in 1st Corinthians chapter 15 and at the end of that chapter about verse 51 whole chapter on the resurrection of the dead Paul actually says behold I show you a mystery we shall not all sleep or it's a metaphor for die but we shall be changed listen to what he said in a moment in the quicking and in the twinkling of an eye we this mortal referring to our body will put on immortality and this corruptible will put on incorruption then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written death is swallowed up on victory and then he went on to say o death where is your sting o grave where is thy victory paul was talking about the rapture when we get raptured we who are alive when the rapture happens our bodies will be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye that weird moment we get our word Adam from it so it's just a quick little millisecond in a moment twinkling of an eye we will be metamorphosize will be changed and my corruptible body will be a corruptible body my mortal body will become an immortal body and we'll be caught up to meet the Lord but we haven't got to the classic passage yet it's in first Thessalonians and it's chapter 4 and it starts in verse 13 and goes to verse 19 that is the classic passage from which we get the word rapture from so Paul's writing to the believers in Thessalonica and he said I don't want you to sorrow as others who have no hope for if we believe that Jesus died and rose again even though who those who have fallen asleep in Jesus God will bring with him for this we say unto you that we worked you're alive remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not precede those who have fallen asleep now that metaphor fallen asleep is only used of Christians and it's only in reference to the physical body it's never referenced to the soul the soul does not sleep there's no doctrine the soul sleep in the Bible the moment a Christian dies at this time he goes immediately to be with the Lord but your physical body is either cremated or dumped in the ocean or buried in the grave and it decays but it's going to be resurrected just as Christ's body was resurrected so when Paul says the dead in Christ shall rise first a Christian who has died has already gone to heaven there with the Lord but their body will be resurrected that's one of the most common questions asked about that passage well what do you mean the dead or race first I thought when you died you went to heaven you do but your body will be resurrected so the rapture involves first the resurrection of the dead in Christ and the translation of the living in Christ so Paul says we who are alive remain shall be listen to me carefully caught up now if you were reading from a Latin Vulgate translation it would have the word rap Taurus there from which we get our word rapture it's a Greek word heart pods oh it means to snatch up or to take up or to be caught up by force and I believe that that's a reference to the rapture another raptures not the same as the second coming Second Coming will happen at least seven years later after a time of tribulation when God is dealing with Israel remember I said you got to have the church at Israel and the world God's going to be dealing with Israel to prepare them for the coming of their Messiah so we will be caught up to meet the Lord that will be the end of the church age you say well are are we close to the rapture we don't know but what we're beginning to see in the world is the stage set for the tribulation which will precede the second coming now if the stage is being set for the tribulation in the world how much more imminent is the rapture of the church the doctrine and the rapture is taught as an imminent hope means nothing has to happen we don't we're not looking for any signs for the rapture you know that it could actually happen before the Bible studies over tonight it's not because I'm gonna go long either you could get raptured in your sleep tonight that would be awesome don't have to get up and go to work tomorrow if you're on your way to school and you got to be take a test or an exam it's like Lord sin the rapture right now you know we got a bill to pay Lord just take me home it could happen at any moment there's no signs that have to be fulfilled everything's ready for the church now who will go up in the rapture every Christian if you're saved you're going up if you're not saved you're not going up the rapture is not a reward for the super Saints it's not for the deeper life club if you're a carnal Christian you won't get caught up know that that's not true every child of God will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air now after the church is caught up the Bible says that there's going to come a man of sin it's called the son of perdition we most commonly hear him refer to as the Anti Christ that means two things that means he is against Christ and it means he takes the place of Christ this Antichrist in brief is going to be a world ruling dictator and the world is going to be unified all the talk today and all the the buzz today about a global issue a global community a need for global warming and we need global this and global that it's all the stage being set for a unified world and a one world leader it amazes me today how crazy people can become leaders of nations how politicians that are just insane to get voted for I'm not referring to Donald Trump by the way in case you're what yeah you know if you if you want to put them in that category you can go ahead but I'm just saying there's a lot of crazy politicians out there and I sometimes think I can't believe that person could get elected this is just insane you know what are we thinking so it's gonna it's gonna it's gonna be very easy for this wicked world ruler who's going to be empowered by Satan and in a sense what God Jesus was God in the flesh he's going to be Satan incarnate he's gonna be Satan in the flesh gonna be empowered by Satan and he's gonna bring the world under his power the world becomes one he actually has a sidekick known as the false prophet you can read all about him in the book of Revelation specifically chapter 13 of Revelation it describes quite graphically this man of sin who will come on the scene he's also talked about by Daniel and in Paul's letters to the church at Thessalonica so what he does is he makes a covenant with the nation of Israel for seven years that 7-year covenant which brings peace to the Middle East which no one has been able to accomplish nor will until the Antichrist comes is going to be the last seven year period of Israel's existence not an accident that they're back in Jerusalem not a Backson accident that they have moved back to the Holy Land and that they've taken the capital of Jerusalem not an accident they become a nation they're born again out of the past God has a purpose and God has a plan for Israel and one of the primary purposes for that last seven years known as the tribulation and the last three and a half God's Great Tribulation of his wrath being poured out is to bring Israel to repentance and to bring them to faith in Jesus as their Messiah Paul says so all Israel will be saved so God is going to restore Israel and bring them back during that time and then he's going to also pour out his wrath upon a christ-rejecting world and punish the unbelieving world for rejecting Christ and it's going to be a horrible time I don't if you saw in the news these big tanks that are burning there in I forget what stated is it's blowing toward Houston Texas but that black billowing smoke and I thought during the tribulation just the fires and the earthquakes and all the devastation that's going to happen is going to be crazy jesus said it'll be time of tribulation like there never has been on planet earth so all of this is God's purpose and plant for the church we're living in the last day but they'll be caught up for the nation of Israel this covenant will be signed at that 70th week of Daniel prophecy that last seven-year period that clicks off on God's time calendar and for the world to be judged and brought to judgment for their rejection of Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ then will return in his second coming with power and glory and establish his kingdom on earth for a thousand years so what happens at the end of the tribulation is the second coming and then there'll be a thousand year reign of Christ upon the earth and then there'll be a new heaven and a new earth that was just kind of a quick overview all based on verse one of this verse last days perilous times shall come so right now we're living in these perilous times which I think will intensify up till the rapture and escalate into the time of the Great Tribulation now that word perilous times is found and only one other place in the Bible it's in Matthew chapter 8 verse 28 and guess how it's used there it's used for the two domani acts of Ghaderi these two men who were demon-possessed cutting themselves with nice living in the caves that no one could control it says that they were very savage and very wicked so many believe in light of that that this last day scenario will be demonically energized and empowered by Satan and obviously we see so much demonic stuff that is going on in our world and in the culture around us today so we should expect this so basically the Bible is a realistic book there's a future and there's a hope there's a new world coming but it's only going to get darker you know the Jewish started at sundown and it got darker and darker and darker until the Sun came up our day starts at sunrise so in God's economy the world's going to get darker and darker and darker until Christ comes and brings in the new kingdom so we should expect these perilous times then the second thing he makes mention of verse 4 to 2 and this is quite detailed is that there will be perverted love in the world and I I say perverted love though there's many different descriptive terms here they all come out of a perverted love let's read at verse 2 down to verse 4 and then we'll unpack each phrase he says for men shall be lovers of their own self now notice the word Ford verse 2 perilous or savage or demonic times are going to come they were starting in Timothy's day and they continue and intensify in our day and here's the reason for men you know if it weren't for men there wouldn't be any evil in the world you know sometimes people ask me pastor you know why is there so much evil in the world why does God let evil in the world and I actually sometimes tell them if God were to get rid of evil he'd have to get rid of you and I why does God allow wickedness in the world well you'd have to start with getting rid of you right now because the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked who can know it well I don't want him to get rid of me I just wanted to get rid of other really bad people I'm just bad but not super bad so so much of the atrocities in the world today man brings upon himself and for God to bring peace to the world he would have to eliminate mankind altogether by the way the word men there is mankind so if you ladies feel pretty good about yourself right there sorry it's everybody mankind she says for mankind should be lovers of their own selves that be covetous verse 2 boasters proud blasphemers disobedient to parents that be unthankful and then wholly they'll be without natural affection trucebreakers false accusers in continuing fierce despisers of those good they'll be traitors they'll be heady they'll be high-minded they'll be lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God and we're going to see in a moment they'll have a form of godliness but they deny the power thereof from such withdraw thy self now Charles aw are Swindall and his commentary on this section actually calls this a depravity on parade I like that the depravity on parade and what what Paul is doing is describing the characteristics and the characters of people who live in these times and we actually see this it's so prevalent today I want to go over these so you need to buckle your seat belt I'll try not to tarry too long on any of them because there are 18 18 characteristics of people living in the last days the first number one and verse two is lovers of themselves or lovers of their own selves now we could just stop right there you know anybody that loves themself you know anybody that's really into themselves that's narcissistic and you know they just every time they go by a mirror they got to check themselves out for a while they go man I'm looking good I'm I'm awesome I'm incredible I'm amazing and they're just full with self love so it heads the list since it is the essence of all other sin sinful man apart from God loves himself more than God it's actually going to end lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God want you to note how often the word love appears in these verses so the problem in the world today is that we know the price of everything and the value of nothing you know there are people and there are things and we should love people and use things but instead we love things and we use people and we don't understand what is really valuable we love ourselves jesus said if any man come after me let him do what deny himself take up his cross and follow me the problem isn't that we need to learn to love ourselves the problem is we do love ourselves the problem is we don't love others as much as we love our self so it starts with self love and I believe that all the sinful characteristics of these people kind of flow out of this horrible self-love we have self magazine and we have me magazine and we're so absorbed with ourselves then the second characteristic is covetous now the word covetous actually carries the idea of lovers of money it's a fillet hoe of money they love money they are materialistic so note the first two that we're living in the last days people are gonna love self and they're gonna love money now the reason they love money is because money helps them get what they want right money money money money money I need money to get what I want because I love myself and I want to do what I want so their covetousness the Pharisees were referred to as covetous the love and the desire for money and more things and then number three is in verse two boasters they brag about themselves so they love themselves they love money and they are braggers and boastful and they brag about themselves and then fourthly verse two they're proud the word can be translated arrogant they're proud they're haughty they're arrogant and then they're blasphemers verse two in other words they speak slanderously against God and against man some translations have revilers you ever heard somebody put down the idea of God or mock God or laugh at God or laugh at the idea of God or call God names or speak blasphemously and then notice sixthly in verse two disobedient to parents so they rebel against parental authority now parents are ordained of God as his authority in the home children obey your parents so this is the first commandment with a promise I believe by the way if you put the Ten Commandments on two tablets of stone first tablets relating to my relationship to God I believe thou shalt obey your father and mother belongs on that first tablet of stone which is commandment number five by the way which would indicate that God's authority in a person's life is their parents but we see a rebellion against that established authority and I'm convinced that this is true that if a child doesn't learn to respect authority in the home they won't respect Authority in society they won't respect authority on the job they won't respect authority at school they won't respect Authority in the community so they must learn Authority that God has placed over them in their parents but it also has to do with the rejecting God's Authority overall as a principle but they are disobedient to parents and we see juvenile delinquency and juvenile rebellion rebelling going on like never before in our culture when politicians are bemoaning the problems of our culture it's so frustrating to me that they don't realize that it can be traced back to the breakdown in the family it's so simple we don't support God's design for the family and we do all we can socially and politically to weaken marriage and the institution of marriage in the home and then we reap the results in our culture today with juvenile delinquency and the crime rate going up and all the evils of our society that can be traced back to a lack of discipline and showing respect to authority in the home here's number seven let's move through this list it's still in verse two and that is they are unthankful or ungrateful so they love themselves they love money they're boasters they're proud they're blasphemers they're disobedient to parents and they're unthankful and they're ungrateful it's a spirit of entitlement and isn't that the truth today we have a whole generation that you know thinks that they have a right everyone wants to know their rights no one is talking about their responsibilities everyone wants to know what their rights are and then here's number eight look at it with me verse two unholy what that means is that to them there's nothing sacred they're what we call secularists everything is secular nothing is to be sanctified by God there is no God there's nothing that is sanctified by God life is not sacred marriage is not sacred human life is not sacred so they're totally secular and then notice nicely in verse three they were without natural affection this is the one I've for years found quite fascinating that term without natural affection has a couple different connotations it means that which is normal it's that which is considered to be normal affection and love now normally you would consider that parents would love their children children would love parents husband would love his wife and a wife would love her husband brothers and sisters would love each other families would love one another but basically it's saying there's no natural affection there's no fat natural love there's no Stargate no no family love and I believe that you could almost translate it that way no love for family in the last days we will see a breakdown in the family when we legalized same-sex marriage there was a horrible step toward breaking down God's institution of marriage in our nation when you look at Romans chapter 1 which is a very similar kind of list as what we find here in this text how it ends with reprobate Minds it can't discern right from wrong we're at the bottom of that list we're at the end of that list starts with the knowledge of God and it ends with a reprobate mind that doesn't work properly so we have a whole nation that have minds that can't discern good and evil or right or wrong or don't work properly but basically what it's saying is that there's no love of family I recently saw on a news program a young college-age girl being interviewed and there's a whole movement right now of Millennials up I'm not going to get married I'm not going to have kids the world's only gonna last for another 12 years you know global warming we only got 12 more years so why would I want to get married why would I have kids and if I get married it's his whole movement and not having children the Bible says children are a gift from God the fruit of the womb is his reward as arrows are in the hand of a mighty man blessed it as the man who has a quiver full of them they are given to us from the Lord and and and I think it's part of an important responsibility too to be fruitful and multiply replenish the earth now I'm not telling you that you have to have kids or how many kids you have to have but it is part of God's plan that you get married you have children their blessings from God you train them to love God and serve God and be a blessing to others and should the Lord tarry and I pray that my kids and my grandkids would go on to serve others and be a blessing to others but they're going to be without natural affection they don't want to get married they don't want to have kids then notice number 10 verse 3 truce breakers that means they're always breaking their commitments and they're always arguing always fighting you basically can say they don't get along with anyone trucebreakers and then verse 3 the eleventh characteristic is false accusers we get our word slanderers from that which is actually the word Devils which means malicious gossip they are human da blows they are Devils they gossip and slander and attack people maliciously and then third number 12 in verse three is they are in continuant in my King James translation or literally it means without self-control there are no self restraints they live as they please if it feels good do it right no right no wrong just indulge yourself have a good time and do whatever you want and then notice 13 fierce or savage or brutal this is used of a wild animal so we have people living like wild animals they are so savage and brutal and our culture today has become more brutal of the murders or becoming more savage and more brutal and then notice the fourteenth characteristic verse three despisers of those that are good this is actually again tied in with the word love means there's no love for virtue they have no love for virtue they don't love anything that's good or wholesome they love evil they love wickedness they despise good people and they despise moral virtue and then notice 15 in verse 4 traitors or some translated treacherous it's that they have betrayed confidence and trust that's been put into them someone who's trusted them and they have violated that trust and then number 16 is in verse 4 heady or reckless literally means falling forward interesting word it literally means to fall forward it was used of the expression headstrong or they would rush on recklessly you know anybody like that they'll drink anything they'll smoke anything they'll eat anything they'll drop anything they'll drive fast they'll party they'll go crazy they're just they're just wild people and they just rush head-on they do and they ask questions later remember when I was in high school I had friends like that just like you die before you get to be 19 you know you're just crazy they just headstrong and headlong they just rush into all kinds of wild sinful behavior reckless behavior and then notice they are also head excuse me verse for high-minded in the King James which means conceited or puffed up the word had literally the idea of wrapped in smoke we use our word their heads in the clouds they think they're really something special they're better than other people and then notice lastly in verse fourteen this is number eighteen lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God that's one statement they love pleasure more than they love God now I want you to notice the perverted love look at the text with me first they love self and they love money then jump down to verse four they love pleasures here's a picture of the last days loving self loving money and loving pleasure if that doesn't nail it I don't know what does that's so descriptive of the world we live in today they love self love money and they love pleasure notice what they don't love verse 3 they don't love family again in verse three they don't love virtue and again in verse four they don't love God so if you put it together they love self love money they love pleasure they don't love family they don't love virtue and they don't love God so they love pleasure more than they actually love God that's the problem in our world today now you're saying I'm glad I came tonight come out on a rainy night to find out how messed up the world is this is a sign of the times and if we're not aware of what the conditions will be we can be thrown off our Bay we need to realize the world is going to get darker now notice in verse 5 the profession of their godliness these people that we just read about in verse 2 to verse 4 they have a form of godliness but they deny the power thereof what are we to do about them from such turn away don't hang out with them don't fellowship with them don't then spend time with them get away from them now the thing that's quite striking in verse 5 is there they have a form of godliness but they deny the power or the reality thereof guess what this is gonna blow your mind maybe it won't blow your mind everything that we just read about these people in the last days they go to church they profess to know God they are religious or you might say in today's terminology they're spiritual they have a form of godliness they have their religion but they don't have any reate reality no relationship with God so this is a professing group of individuals and I believe that we're seeing this quite common today people that say well I'm a Christian I go to church but they live no differently than the world well I'm a Christian I believe in God I believe in Jesus but they live no differently than the world there their words are not consistent with their works their profession isn't consistent with their practice so they have this outward form of godliness but they deny the inner reality of a relationship with God now notice in verse 6 to 9 in closing the practice of these apostates and this is what the Bible says will happen just before the rapture the church professing church not the real true church is going to get corrupt gonna be invaded by apostates now what apostasy means is someone who has professed to be a Christian held belief in Christian doctrine and then turns from that and falls away and denies that so verse six for of this sort that we just read about those who have a form of godliness but denying the power thereof there they which creep their their sly and sneaky they creep into houses and they lead captive silly or weak women laden with sins or burdened down with guilt let away with different kinds of sinful desires who are ever learning and never able to come and to a knowledge of truth now verse 6 and 7 you have the description of the victims of these apostates they creep into families homes and they find people that are weak willed here specifically it refers to in the King James silly women but it says that they actually have an influence over these women that are under the guilt of their sins and they bring them after them they follow them it is interesting quite often when you find false teachers and cults that they have quite a following of women that are weak-willed and that are subject to temptation because of their guilt and their sins and it says that they will ever learn verse 7 but never come to the knowledge of the truth that phrase knowledge of the truth indicates that they won't really be saved they're always studying the Bible they are always going to church they get involved in their groups and their activities but they never come to a saving knowledge you know there's a large chunk of professing Christianity that is completely apostate and I know this is what you might call a negative message but I think it's based clearly on what's going to happen in the last days and what the Bible is saying you know there's a lot of mainline denominations that don't believe that Jesus was God they don't believe in the virgin earth they don't believe that marriage is between a man and a woman they don't believe in the resurrection they don't believe the Bible is inerrant infallible Word of God you can't just go that's a church it's got a cross on it the pastor's a clergyman he's speaking from the Bible that must be a Christian Church not necessarily so there's a lot of churches today that have turned away from Orthodox Christianity this is why in the book of Jude that's written about last days apostasy says we must earnestly contend for the faith which is once and for all delivered to the Saints I believe every Christian should know what the Bible teaches about God about Jesus about the Trinity about salvation about the resurrection about the Bible about how to be saved about the Lord's coming you need to know those basic Bible doctrines you need to study the Bible the Word of God so it when it's something that's not true or false comes along you'll be able to detect the lie and won't be led astray and then notice he moves from the victims of apostasy to the apostates character in verses 8 and 9 in closing he says now as Janney's and jamberries withstood Moses so do these also resist the truth they're men of corrupt minds here it is they're reprobate concerning the faith like I said in Romans chapter 1 they started with the knowledge of God but they didn't want to retain God so God gave them over to a reprobate mind and it's down at the end of man's degeneration and here these people are reprobate concerning the faith but notice it ends on a good note and they'll take a turn when we get to verse 10 some very very great verses it teaches how to stand against this apostasy but he says they shall proceed no further for their folly shall be manifest unto all men as theirs also was he's referring to Janney's and jamberry so who is this Gianni's and jamberries in verse a kind of an interesting reference there this Jenny's and jamberries which stood Moses it's believed that Paul is making a reference here to the two magicians that were in pharaoh's court when Moses came to Pharaoh and said God wants the people of Israel to be let go and Moses had to do the miracles to convince Pharaoh that God was with him and let God's people go now one of those miracles and that's what these Gianni's and jamberries was and which is interesting they're not named in the book of Exodus there's no reference to it and Jewish tradition named them Janney's and jamberries and here we have Paul giving us their names remember when Moses took his rod in the court of Pharaoh if nothing else didn't you see the book but in the movie The Ten Commandments come on hang with me and Charlton Heston threw his rod down and it became a snake and everyone freaked out and he reached out and picked it up and the favor goes on that's just a cheap magician's trick no biggie come on Jenny's in JAMA he didn't call him that but he says four come on in here and these two magicians come in and they throw down their rods and their rods become serpents as well you go Wow a couple interesting things by the way there and that is Satan can perform miracles Satan is real and Satan has power so if the temple table levitates and the room kind of shakes you know and there's a voice in the cloud and the curtains move in the room you know it's not necessarily God it could be demonic activity so Satan has power but the cool thing is is that Moses rod as a serpent went over and did what swallowed up and the ate up there are two rods and then he picked up his rod go anyone else want to mess with me kind of like I'm sure to Jenny and Rabbie's were saying man I paid good money at the fun Mart at the fun store for that just lost my magic wand but the idea is there that was an occult ik demonic practice the satan has power but they would stood Moses the point of the passage of this is they they stood up against Moses so these false teachers that Paul is describing in this passage they stand against the true teachers of the word that's taken by the way from Exodus chapter 7 Satan has power Satan has a counterfeit but he would stands the true preaching of the truth but notice that the description of them they resist the truth they have corrupt minds it means they're morally depraved by the way that's in the present tense means they're ongoingly depraved in their minds and it's in what's called the passive voice which means that it's the influence of the devil in their heart and in their life and in their mind and then they're reprobate their minds don't work they can't discern right from wrong and it's all concerning the faith at the end of verse 8 the faith is a reference to the doctrine of Orthodoxy that we hold to and we believe now the turn happens in verse 9 and I'm so want to continue through this chapter but I'm going to save it so we can go into more depth but look at with me verse 10 for just a moment but Paul says you have fully known my doctrine my manner of life Timothy you've known my purpose my long-suffering my patience you know the persecutions and afflictions which came to me at Antioch and Iconium and Lystra which persecutions I endure but out of them all the Lord deliver me all that live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution but evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse deceiving and being deceived but this is what we're to do verse 14 in light of these last days apostasy continue thou in the things which you have learned and have been assured of knowing of whom you've learned them there from a child you've known the Holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise in this salvation through faith which is in Jesus Christ all Scripture is given by inspiration of God it is profitable for doctrine for reproof for correction for instruction and righteousness that the man of God may be perfect thoroughly furnished unto all good works now go back with me to verse 9 so they shall proceed no further their folly shall be manifest unto all men or to all as there's also what so it's going to be evident it's going to be manifest that they are false teachers that they are apostates but what are we supposed to do two things verse one know perilous times shall come and verse 14 to 17 that's why I wanted to read it with you we are to continue in the Word of God that we've known verse 15 and all scripture given by inspiration of God it is profitable for what is right for what is wrong for how to get right and how to stay right that we as a believers may be mature and thoroughly furnished and equipped for every good work so it comes back to this book the bibl II the Bible amen so you might cover what we did tonight and go wow that's really scary oh man that's pretty scary world's gonna get really dark this is a lamp to your feet and a light to your path the darker the world gets the more you need the light of God's Word it's the only way for you to be discerning and wise hide God's Word in your heart that you might not sin against him how are you going to know truth from error how will you know truth from error God's Word it's the plumb line it's a standard it's a measuring rod so we want to be individuals who are in the word we want to be a church that's in the word what do God we were a nation that honored this book the Word of God we've fallen away from God's Word and we're reaping what we saw as I look at the culture that we live and I I don't really have any hope other than Jesus Christ and I'm not a pessimist I'm a realist I believe Jesus Christ is coming back and if he doesn't we're going to go to heaven just the same but we need to pull as many people as we can out of the fires of hell by sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ amen

Channel: Revival Christian Fellowship

Views: 6,651

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Id: oNpekokx8Ig

Length: 49min 29sec (2969 seconds)

Published: Mon Apr 08 2019